Paint brush guard



Jan. 21, 1958 J. MASLANEY I 2,820,

PAINT BRUSH GUARD Y Filed Dec, 9, 1955 v mfszvroa John Mas/aney ATTORNEYUnited States Patent 2,820,237 PAINT BRUSH GUARD John Maslaney,Cadillac, Mich. Application December 9, 1955, Serial No. 552,137 3Claims. (Cl. 15-248) This invention relates to a paint brush and moreparticularly to such guards for use in painting trim without gettingpaint on surfaces adjacent the trim. This invention is particularlyadapted for trimming around the glass of a window or door.

It is extremely difficult for one not skilled in painting to paint thetrim of a window or door without getting paint on the glass. In fact, itis difficult even for a skilled painter to avoid smearing the glassunless he exercises special care. The exercise of this special care istime consuming.

Various types of paint brush guards have been de veloped for paintingtrim or other fine work. However, none of these guards is completelysatisfactory. The primary object of this invention is to provide animproved paint brush guard which can be secured to any paint brushenabling even an unskilled person to paint grim and other fine workwithout smearing adjacent suraces.

Another object of this invention is to provide a paint brush guardattachment having a guard part normally biased to operative position andeasily retractable to inoperative position for replenishing the brush.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a paint brush guardhaving means for self biasing the guard into operative position andmeans by which the guard can be retracted with the same hand used tohold the brush.

A further object of this invention is to provide a paint brush guardattachment which can be used on different brushes with the minimum ofdifficulty.

Another object of this invention is to provide a guard of simpleconstruction and, therefore, low in manufacturing cost. This guard has aminimum number of parts which are readily manipulated for attachment andremoval to the brush.

Other objects of this invention will become obvious upon reading thefollowing specification in conjunction with the accompanying drawingswherein:

Fig. 1 is an oblique view of the paint guard attachment in operativeposition on a paint brush.

Fig. 2 is another oblique view of the brush of Fig. 1 with the guard inretracted or inoperative position.

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the guard mounted on a paint brush showing theguard in operative position.

Fig. 4 is a side elevation view of the brush of Fig. 3 illustrating theguard attached to the brush in operative position.

Fig. 5 is an elevational, central sectional view of the invention takenalong the plane VV of Fig. 3.

Fig. 6 is an elevational, sectional view of the invention taken alongthe plane VI-VI of Fig. 3.

Fig. 7 is an elevational, sectional view of the invention taken alongthe plane VII-VII of Fig. 3.

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary, plan view of a modified guard.

. Throughout this specification the word outwardly is guard attachmentfor a ice used and shall be taken to mean outwardly or away from thecenter axis of the paint brush.

Briefly, this invention is concerned with an improved guard attachmentfor paint brushes having a handle part adapted to slidably fit over thepaint brush handle. The guard attachment has a guard part adapted toslidably fit over one face of the bristles of the paint brush. Anintermediate part connects the handle and guard parts. This intermediatepart has an elongated slot extending between the handle and guard partsand means secured to the brush, between the handle and the bristles, andextending through the slot for guiding the guard. A spring holds theguard part in operative position over one face of the bristles. Thisspring is preferably housed in a rib extending from the handle part. Itis attached to the brush and the handle part providing means for biasingthe guard part into operative position.

Referring to the drawings, reference numeral 10 denotes a brush having ahandle 11 and bristles 13. 'The bristles 13 are secured to the handle 11by the head 12. The brush 10 is of conventional design having thebristle part wider than the handle. Thus, the handle 11 tapers inwardlyadjacent the head 12, forming shoulders 14.

The guard attachment, although fabricated as one piece, in realityincludes three distinct parts: the handle part 30, the guard part 40,and the intermediate part or neck 51). The handle part 30 slidably nestsabout the handle 11; the guard part 40 covers one side of the bristles13; and the intermediate part 50 connects the guard part 40 to thehandle part 20.

The handle part 30 has a channel-like cross section (Fig. 7) andincludes the flanges 31 connected by the bight portion or web 32. Theflanges 31 extend downwardly along the sides of the handle 11 While theWeb portion 32 extends over one face of the handle 11. The entire handlepart 30 is of appropriate size and shape permitting it to slidelongitudinally along the handle 11. A rib 33 extends outwardly from theWeb 32. If made of metal, the rib is stamped out to form a' housing forthe spring 63 whose function will be described more specificallyhereinafter. A tongue or book 34 is struck from the rib into the housingforming an anchor for one end of the spring 63. The entire unit can becast of metal or plastic, in which case the rib 33 and tongue 34 areformed in the mold.

The guide part 40 includes a plate having an arcuate cutout 41 on eachside, intermediate its ends. At one end and toward the handle part 30,the sides of the plate are bent down along the sides of the bristles 13.This forms a channel in the guard part in which the bristles 13 slidewhen the guard is retracted or projected. The other end 44 of guard 40is flared outwardly to project well beyond the sides of the brush. Theextreme forward end 45 is bent downward. This entire construc-: tionpermits only the extreme tips of the bristles to beexposed and allowspainting right into a corner or up to the edge of the glass withoutgetting paint on the. glass. A struck out thumb tab 46 projectsoutwardly from the web portion 43 of the channel formed by the flanges42.

The intermediate part 50 forms a neck connecting the guard part 40 andthe handle part 30. This intermediate part is fiat and narrower thaneither the handle part St) or the guard part 40. It is of sufficientlength to permit the channel parts of the handle 30 and guard 40 toslide on the handle 11 and the bristles 13, intermediate part 50 has anelongated respectively. The slot 51 extending between the handle part 30and the guard part 40. The

elongated slot 51 extends slightly into the guard part 40 (Fig. 3).Reinforcement ribs can be provided on each side.

The guard attachment 20 is secured to the paint brush t by the bolt 60extending through the enlarged portion of the ha 1 1 brush, one end ofthe spring 64 is attached manner, the spring guard toward the end of thebristles 13, thus causing the cover one side of the bristles.

Operation and guard may be in When the person painting with the brushdesires Both the brush hand.

It is obvious that this operation one hand thus relieving the other forhelping No positive movement to move the guard part 40 to nected fromhook 65.

It should be evident that this guard attachment is of simpleconstruction.

The guard, neck, and handle parts can be accomplished in a singleoperation or in several successive operations. The bolt 60, screw 66,spring 64, and hook 65 are conventional elements. The guard attachment20 can be molded of plastic or are preferred by many operators for trimpainting because their shape facilitates painting in corners.

A brush equipped with this guard is not only usable for painting Him buthas utility in striping operations or anywhere when one color is to bebrought up to another.

It will be recognized that a screw may be substituted for the bolt 61.Like the bolt, it may be tightened to secure the guard in retractedposition.

It should be understood that in describing this invention, preferredembodiments have been shown. Other various and diflerent embodiments canbe made without departing from the scope of this invention. bodimentsshall be considered to fall within this invention unless the appendedclaims note otherwise.

I claim:

1. A guard attachment for paint brushes comprising: a handle partadapted to slidably fit over a paint brush expressly desaid housingwhereby said spring biases said guard part to operative position overone face of said bristles.

3. A guard for paint brushes comprising: a handle said channel shapedhandle part, said rib forming an elongated spring housing extendinglongitudinally of said handle part; an elongated helical tension springin said housing and secured at one end of said housing to said handiepart; means for securing the other end of said spring to said brush at apoint in proximity to the other end of said housing whereby said springbiases said guard part to operative position over one face of saidbristles; and a thumb tab on said guard part by which an operator canReferences Cited in the file of this patent slidably retract said guardpart to inoperative position 10 against the bias of said spring.

UNITED STATES PATENTS Lane July 12, 1898 Swanson Feb. 14, 1905 BambergerAug. 14, 1928 Campbell Apr. 20, 1937 Rucker Mar. 16, 1954 FOREIGNPATENTS Great Britain Sept. 20, 1928

